How to Cook with Marijuana

Mother's tips to elevating your meals beyond brownies.

Monday 05/23/2016

by Mother Knows Best

by Mother Knows Best

Dear Mother,

I'm planning a swanky dinner party and want to include some ganja treats, but I need something way more sophisticated for this crowd than brownies or goo balls. Help me wow my friends with some far out there foods that don't look like they came out of the parking lot of a Phish show.

— Chef-in-training

Dear Chef,

You've come to the right place. Like many mothers, I have a few secret recipes up my sleeve, and some of mine just happen to be peppered liberally with cannabis.

One of the exciting aspects to marijuana slowly becoming legal throughout the country is that it is expanding the way we are able to enjoy it. Skilled bakers and candy makers have been whipping up incredible creations for a while now. At a medicinal dispensary by me, you can get all sorts of medicated treats, from your standard chocolate bars to homemade caramel, lozenges, and the good old brownie. I've also seen cannabis find its way into other types of candies, drinks, and a wide variety of pastries.

In areas that have legal recreational marijuana, foodies and chefs are finding many new ways to use marijuana as well. There are special marijuana dinner parties where everything from appetizers to desserts are infused with the powerful herb, and even dinner parties where specific strains are paired with the meal, much like a wine would be. If you happen to live in an area where cannabis is legal, go check out your local dispensaries for inspiration!

It sounds like you're interested in creating some sort of cannabis dessert—which is usually the popular choice—but don't forget that you can also go the savory route. In fact, cannabis has a rich, earthy flavor that melds nicely with ingredients that could wow as an appetizer or first course. That will also allow enough time throughout the meal for your guests to start feeling the actual effects of the cannabis (remember that it can take up to an hour or two before the impact of an edible can be felt, depending on dosage and strength of strain). If you wait until dessert, your guests may not actually feel the high until they're back home. So, unless that's what you're going for, perhaps consider sprinkling some marijuana earlier in your meal.

Cannabis butter and oil isn't all that difficult to make and the two things you need (besides the actual butter/oil and cannabis) are time and patience. Cook it low and slow to get all that THC goodness infused into your fat of choice. You can then use the oil or butter in any number of dishes from a puff pastry for baked brie or in cheese straws (can you tell Mother loves her dairy?), both delightful appetizers.

You can also roast root veggies with cannabis oil/butter. The earthiness of the various ingredients will work incredibly well together. How about finding some rather unique ways to infuse your party with cannabis to really wow your guests? Cannacreamer is a recipe for marijuana creamer, which you can either use within recipes or for guests to spike their coffees with! Or perhaps start the meal off with a marijuana butternut soup or ganja guacamole?

Or, if you want, keep it simple and just have cannabis butter to spread on some bread!

However, if dessert is truly where you want your buds to shine, there are plenty of ways to make that work without defaulting to a brownie. If you've made your own cannabis-infused fat (oil or butter), you can pretty much make any dessert pastry you can think of. You can also use marijuana chocolate, melt that down in a double boiler (again — low and slow!), and use it to coat dried or fresh fruit.

Mother Knows Best

Mother Knows Best is written by a freelance writer with over 20 years of experience with cannabis. And yes, she also happens to be a mother, just not yours. Reach her with your question at [email protected]